25 assumptions about abortion for fetal anomaly
We talk about abortion for fetal anomaly often without noticing a lot of unspoken and unexamined assumptions. In this post, I’m not trying to evaluate whether the assumptions are true, false, fair, or absurd. I’m only naming them. If you’re looking for evaluations about the assumptions, skip to the section “Evaluative Content.”
Moral distinctions
1. There are not significant moral distinctions between an unavoidable natural death and purposefully taking a life.
2. There are not significant moral distinctions between different methods of terminating a pregnancy.
3. There are significant moral distinctions between abortion when a fetus has a disability (more permissible) versus euthanasia when a newborn has the same disability (less permissible)
Fatal anomalies
4. Experts have a uniform understanding of which prenatal medical conditions are fatal.
5. Abortions for fetal anomaly are only for fatal anomalies.
6. Fatal anomalies mean a newborn with such conditions will suffer before dying.
7. Medical experts diagnose fatal anomalies objectively and with a high degree of accuracy.
Medical professionals
8. The medical community gives parents objective information and centers decision making on the parents’ values and preferences.
9. Medical professionals accurately explain to parents the differences between presumptive and diagnostic tests.
10. Medical professionals clearly explain false positive rates of different tests.
11. After a prenatal diagnosis, medical professionals neutrally and non-directively outline parents’ options.
12. Medical professionals accurately and non-judgementally explain the potential manifestations of disabilty traits, as well as the odds of those traits manifesting.
13. Medical professionals accurately explain the community resources available for children with disabilities and their families.
14. Medical professionals are unbiased when assessing the quality of life of people with disabilities.
Parental experiences
15. Parents are more negatively psychologically impacted by the deaths of their disabled newborns than by abortions of their disabled fetuses.
16. Perinatal hospice or palliative care don’t mitigate that increased negative psychological impact.
17. After an abortion for fetal anomaly, families typically have the opportunity to spend time with the fetal remains.
18. Abortion for fetal anomaly leaves the baby’s body intact for grieving processes and funeral services.
Fetal and newborn experiences
19. It is more cruel to let a newborn endure a natural death than to abort a fetus.
20. A person would only willingly do so if they were selfish or brainwashed.
21. Perinatal hospice and pallative care are just getting a baby too high to suffer.
22. Abortion for fetal anomaly is less painful than if a newborn dies.
23. Abortion for fetal anomaly is painless for the fetus.
Nature of abortion
24. Abortion isn’t killing; it’s letting die.
25. Abortion isn’t killing; it’s preventing a life from coming into existence.
Evaluative Content
- Prenatal Testing: Do Parents Have Informed Consent?
- Abortion and Infant Mortality: Termination Does Not Prevent Death (article in The New Bioethics)
- Interview series: stories of prenatal diagnoses
- Unconscious bias in prenatal diagnosis leading to abortion
- What do they mean by “after-birth abortion”?
If you appreciate our work and would like to help, one of the most effective ways to do so is to become a monthly donor. You can also give a one time donation here or volunteer with us here.
